Breaking Rules (Delta Force Strong #2) - Elle James Page 0,33
Sunny needed the time to apply stage makeup and choose a costume for the performance.
Setting her at arm’s length, Dash sighed.
She laughed. “Now, you’re sighing.”
“I want so much more than what we have time for.”
“Like what?” she whispered, touched her fingers to his bulletproof vest. She opened the vest and helped him slide it over his shoulders, lowering it to the floor.
“Like what you’re doing,” he said and cupped the back of her neck, drawing her to him for a kiss that lasted only a moment. “As much as I want to make love to you, you need to get ready.”
“Or Floyd will show up at my door demanding I appear on the stage ASAP.” She took one of his hands in hers and carried it up to her lips, pressing a kiss to his palm. “Do you really want to make love to me?” she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.
He laughed. “Yes. More than I want to take my next breath. You’re beautiful. You have the voice of an angel. What mortal man wouldn’t want to make love to you?”
She sighed again. “What if I couldn’t sing? What if I was just like any other woman?”
“I’d still want to make love to you,” he said. “It’s what’s in your heart that makes you so beautiful.” He brushed his thumb across her lips. “I saw you with those refugees. You really cared about them. And with Private George—you didn’t brush him off, too busy to talk to a fan. You treated him like you cared. You’re kind, you’re funny and you’re real. How many celebrities are?
“More than you would know,” she said. “We’re all just people like anyone else. We want to be loved for who we are, not what we can do. One day, the beauty will fade, the fingers will grow gnarled and the vocal cords will dry up. What will be left?”
He pulled her in his arms. “A warm, caring person, who can be loved for the beauty in her heart.”
She stared up into his eyes, tears filling hers.
“Now, don’t cry.” He pressed a kiss to each of her eyelids. “You’ll get all red and puffy.”
She laughed. “I can’t have that. It’ll disappoint the troops. I’m supposed to make them happy and forget that they’re thousands of miles away from home, missing their families.”
“That’s right. Once again, caring enough about others to help them through some tough times.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Now, go get ready. While I’m watching out for you, I get to hear you sing. I was hoping to catch your concert. Now, I can. I hear you’re amazing.” He winked.
“So I’m told,” she said. “I’ll sing a song especially for you.”
“I’ve only had one other woman sing a song especially for me.”
“Oh?” Sunny’s eyebrow rose. “The hussy.”
He laughed out loud. “Don’t be calling my mother a hussy. She sang to my sister and me every night when we went to bed, until we were about ten years old. I’d stay awake as long as I could, just to hear her sing.”
“She must be an amazing woman,” Sunny said.
“To put up with me and all my shenanigans, she was,” he said.
“Was? Is she still alive?”
He shook his head. “Both my parents passed a couple of years ago, within six months of each other.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Dad died of a heart attack. Mom missed him so much, she died of a broken heart.”
Sunny laid her hand on his arm. “And now, they’re together in heaven.”
He nodded. “Knowing they’re together, makes it a little easier to accept that I’ve lost both parents.”
“And you’re lucky you still have your sister,” Sunny reminded him.
“I am. Although there have been some scares with her.” He brushed a strand of her hair back from her forehead. “It’s getting late. You need to get ready.”
She glanced at the clock, and her eyes widened. “Yikes!” She ran for the closet, selected clothing, and dashed to the bathroom.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” she called out. Then she poked her head around the door and gave him a sly grin. “You wouldn’t happen to want to join me in the shower, would you?”
He scowled. “Don’t tempt me, woman. It would be more than a moment, if I did.”
“Thought I’d ask.” And she was gone. The next thing Dash heard was the sound of water running in the little bathroom.
Yes, he’d been tempted to take her up on her offer to shower with her. Maybe he’d get one while she